CBS Radio plans to announce Monday that it's selling its four Portland radio stations to a new company controlled by onetime radio mogul Larry Wilson, who has suddenly taken a commanding position on the city's broadcast landscape.

The news, first reported online by Oregon Media Central, came to CBS Radio's Portland employees in a staff meeting this afternoon.

Alpha Broadcasting

New purchases

• KCMD (970-AM): Talk radio

• KUPL (98.7-FM): Contemporary country music

• KINK (101.9-FM): Album-oriented rock

• KUFO (101.1-FM): Alternative rock

Existing stations

• KXL (750-AM): Talk radio

• KXTG ("The Game," 95.5-FM): Sports

Monday's $40 million cash deal adds to two stations that Wilson bought from billionaire Paul Allen in May for $11 million. It brings several of Oregon's best-known broadcasters under the ownership of one company, Alpha Broadcasting, which Wilson formed jointly this year with Portland-based private equity firm Endeavour Capital.

Previously, Wilson was founder and chief executive of Citadel Communications Corp., which grew into a chain of 205 radio stations before its $2 billion sale in 2001.

Wilson, who owned a little less than 6 percent of Citadel at the time of its sale, retired to Montana. He was developing real estate and raising horses before returning to the radio business last spring.

All forms of traditional media are suffering a beating as advertisers pull back during the recession and shift online. CBS Radio reported last week that its quarterly revenues were off 23 percent from a year ago.

But with the advertising and broadcast industries down, Wilson, 64, said he sees an opportunity to get back into radio while prices are low and larger broadcast chains are retrenching.

"There's no question about it," he said. "CBS, they have made it clear that they want to be in just the biggest markets."

Those six stations span talk radio, sports, country and rock. Wilson said that gives Alpha Broadcasting a diverse set of audiences to market to prospective advertisers.

"You can leverage just about any demographic," he said. "It really gives you a good cross section."

Alpha doesn't plan to make format changes at any of the stations, Wilson said, and will generally leave existing personnel and broadcast lineups in place. One possible exception is KCMD, he said, which lags the others in reach.

In May, Wilson said he was looking to build a small chain with stations in other western cities. But having expanded in Portland, he said any further acquisitions are a ways off.

"We're just going to concentrate on Portland right now," he said. "We've spent a lot of money, and now we've got to make them work very well."